1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an indirect fired drying or dehydration apparatus particularly adapted for dehydrating well circulation fluids such as drilling muds containing substantial quantities of drill cuttings and similar solids.
2. Background
The continued and ever-increasing level of consciousness regarding proper handling of waste materials and disposal of such materials in an environmentally safe and acceptable manner has caused significant concern in the well drilling industry. The handling of well drilling circulation fluids or drilling muds which have become heavily contaminated with drill cuttings, including the disposal of the drill cuttings themselves, has typically been dealt with by digging a pit in the vicinity of the well drilling operation for collection of the drill cuttings and the quantities of fluids which cannot be entirely separated from these cuttings.
In certain areas, such as off-shore drilling operations and operations in the Arctic, the disposal of drill cuttings and the quantities of fluids that cannot be entirely separated from the cuttings has required the transport of these substances to suitable on-shore sites, in the case of off-shore operations, and the construction of specially lined disposal pits. However, the construction of these pits in Arctic regions has been deemed undesireable for several reasons and new methods of disposal and dehydration of drill cuttings and drilling fluids have been sought.
The disposal of well drilling cuttings or solid material generated in the drilling of a well should take into consideration the composition of the liquid base of the circulation fluid. In those instances where the liquid is primarily water, a suitable disposal method may be accomplished by indirect vaporization of the solids-laden fluids whereby substantially dry earthlike materials are then left for disposal and water or other evaporable or combustible substances may be treated in a manner whereby disposal into the atmosphere is acceptable.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved apparatus and method for treating drilling fluids which are laden with drill cuttings solids and other fluids generated in the drilling process whereby substantially dehydrated solid particles are provided which may be disposed of in various ways, including possibly use as a construction material. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for treating drill cuttings whereby evaporable or combustible liquids may be subjected to high enough temperatures to cause complete vaporization and some oxidation so that resultant vapors, such as water vapor and carbon dioxide, may be discharged into the atmosphere directly after the dehydration process.